When I rock my hootless gear, a lot of people stop me in my path. I love it. The logo is somewhat provocative. What do you have against owls?? Nothing. What does it mean? I’ve never been questioned so much from wearing a shirt or hat. At the end of the day, no one can put a finger on an actual definition, but I can tell you what it doesn’t mean.

Zero Hoots does not mean you don’t give a single f*ck about anything or anyone in the world. That would make you an incredibly shitty person.

Growing up with 3pac and after talking to the ZHG, the journey to hootlessness involves understanding when and where to give the right kind of hoots. Also, there is no black and white definition of what it means to be “hootless”. Being “hootless” means something different to every individual. Have you ever given hoots about your mom? I sure have, but unless your mom abandoned you when you were 4 and left you in a alley to be raised by a homeless crack head, maybe it’s time to re-evaluate. It is possible that because we give a hoot about our mom’s authority, we feel empowered to not give a hoot? I dunno. It’s hard to say, but when I was younger and didn’t give a hoot about rules in the household and what my parents wanted me to do, I was probably giving a hoot deep down. I was probably being the biggest hoot giver in America. I decided to not give a hoot about my parents lessons because i GAVE A HOOT about how my life compared to the rich kids at my high school. That was the worst part. I didn’t give a hoot BECAUSE I actually gave the most hoots in the world!! Don’t fall into that trap.

Some people give zero hoots because they actually give the most hoots. Understand the root of the hoot.

Why don’t you give a hoot about school? Is it because you give a hoot about the bully that calls you names every Wednesday lunch? If you stopped giving a hoot about that bully, would school be alright? It’s time to dig deep folks. Take a second to ask why you don’t give zero hoots.

Funny story. I work at an amazing company, but like anywhere in the world, hoots fly around from time to time. We wear Zero Hoots apparel every Thursday (#hootlessjueves). Mind you, this is a 1000 person corporate company. Though we are pretty laid back and can wear jeans whenever we want, it is always interesting when the executives see a bunch of employees rocking shirts that say “Zero Hoots” on them. As you can imagine, they start to think their employees don’t give a single f*ck about anything and aren’t working hard. Just recently, one of the senior managers was wearin a zero hoots shirt on Thursday. An executive walked by and said “Hey *****, good to know you don’t give a hoot about anything around here!” Obviously, this exec hadn’t been blessed by the message and knowledge of zero hoots and fell into the trap of a lot of others, thinking that “Zero Hoots” means not giving a single f about anything. Thankfully we had a level 9 hootless warrior in the building. **** replied with. “No, it’s not that I don’t give a hoot about work, I don’t give a hoot about all unimportant aspects of work. Also, I can deflect the trouts.” Well that last sentence was never actually said, but I hope you get the point.

Moral of the story is being hootless does NOT mean you don’t care about the important things, like working hard, living a life full of love and gratitude or getting those fresh eggs from the corner bakery every morning. It just means you are able to distinguish between the things worth giving a hoot about and the things that are beat and not worth your time and energy.

Great article about how SJSU went on a tear after Ryan passed away. His Hootless mantra united a tribe of Spartans and helped them climb to a #9 ranking in the country. Something that SJSU has never been done before. Full story here.

Thank you SJSU for writing this piece of truly hootless content. The mantra “Zero Hoots” means something unique to everyone who embraces it. This is a great story about how it can empower a team to come together and dominate son.

Be yourself, son. Don’t pay attention to the trouts, son. The first time I heard 3Pac was when I got home after giving too many hoots at work. I walked upstairs and found my best friend, Goose, lying on the floor watching the YouTube video “AINT STOPPIN (BEAST MODE ACTIVATED). He says, “Dude, you gotta see this.” 90 seconds into the song and I was free of all hoots — I was healed son.

I’d like to preface the rest of this story with my initial concern — was I out of the ZHG for not knowing 3Pac before he passed? As you could imagine, I felt that there would be some resistance from those who knew 3. I told Willie J about this concern. I was stoked when he supported my vision of being an advocate for future hootless warriors who embody 3Pac’s mantra.

Before I got blessed by the Ancient Silverback on Youtube, I was beatsquat. I’d wake up at 4am for work feeling sorry for myself, giving a hoot everyday, letting the little things get to me; all while losing touch with friends, loved ones, and myself. This included poor health and wanting to be alone all the time. The new role I settled in demanded a lot from me — both physically and mentally. I was struggling with rigorous east-coast hours and a lack of any work-life balance. I very easily lost sight of what mattered — living your life by your own standards, not anyone else’s.

For example — there was a day I remember being especially beat. I was living in a world where I thought my place of work owed me more recognition for the work I was doing. In my eyes, I was sacrificing more than anyone. I had a certain account I was chasing forever. I was going to extremes getting in at 4am for months trying to connect with a President of this company. I realized I called this guy more times this year than I did my mother, father, sister, and best friends COMBINED. I became too busy for those closest to me.

Before seeing 3Pac on Youtube, I would come home from work and sit on the couch not saying shit to anyone, living in a negative silence. No energy. No motivation to do anything. Watching everyone else living their lives on social media. What I failed to realize at the time was this: if you put zero in, you get zero out. This is especially true in your personal life.

Fast forward to the day I come home from work, hearing Goose cracking up by himself upstairs. We spent the next hour enjoying watching 3Pac give zero hoots in his music videos. We couldn’t get enough of it. That afternoon was different for once; yet very familiar. We were back to our normal selves, making fun of everything, having a good time, appreciating life again. We realized how lucky we were to live at Pico, in Santa Barbara, with loving families, loyal friends, our health, and a little chedda son. It’s funny how a couple good laughs cured us of our hoots. We spent the rest of the afternoon laughing at how beat we have been for the last few months.

One video in particular stood out to me: “DAMN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE 3PAC”. I rewatched this again and again before I went to sleep; laughing watching 3Pac having fun, tearing up Chuck E. Cheese, rolling around in the grass, being himself. I saw a lot of myself in this video; and I think that’s what 3Pac does best. He’s a reflection of everyone’s hootless self. A kid at heart, but a beast in the booth son.

“Damn it feels good to be 3Pac,

All of my dreams came true,

Haters said I wouldn’t make it,

Now they’re really upset”

– 3Pac

Since being exposed to 3Pac and the ZHG, I’ve been happier, healthier, and hoot-free. I’ve learned that we were put on this Earth to act out of love, not hate. Whenever I feel myself giving a hoot, I think about my favorite 3Pac videos and feel better.

I cannot imagine how much happiness he brought his family, friends, teammates, chedda mommas, etc. Furthermore, how much sadness was felt when he left us. But, what I can speak to is the positive effect Ryan’s had on people after his passing — even those who didn’t know him. Like Willie J said, it’s up to us to send hootless energy into the universe to keep the legend alive.

Chances are you’ve heard “zero hoots” through 3pac, the hootless warrior, who coined the term. Though 3pac and I have had many discussions about the art of giving zero hoots, please understand this is my opinion. Essentially, 3pac wants you to interpret it for yourself.

Throughout my life I have given hoots and given zero hoots. The art of giving zero hoots makes me think about the root of the hoot.

In my mind, Zero Hoots doesn’t mean not caring about anyone or anything. Rather, you are comfortable being yourself, aligned with your values, and persistently overcoming obstacles.

As 3pac says, “The hoot is the root of all evil”.

If you want to have a family, help the homeless, be political, protect the environment, raise kids, that’s awesome because that is who you are. if something doesn’t resonate with your Self, zero hoots should be given. Sometimes we have to fight for we do not like, to protect our values and identity. For example, not everyone loves their job, but if your job gives you freedom to explore your passion, then maybe it’s worth caring about.

Giving a hoot takes a lot of energy. Energy is a finite resource. 3pac is able to deflect hoots for what truly matters in his life. The ZHG. Energy needs to be burned and hoots need to be released. Since you only have a finite amount of lifetime energy, you need to be cautious of letting hoots waste your power.

Why do you think people hand out hoots like high fives on a baseball field? It’s probably because they worry about the wrong things. Maybe, they lack something worth caring about. Maybe, you have to care about something meaningful before you can truly give zero hoots.

When we are younger, we are more receptive to these hoots. Since we haven’t quite found what we value, it’s hard to know what to give hoots about. Unimportant hoots can get trapped in the body and be hard to release later in life. Hopefully as we grow, we can continue to learn what is important to us, so we can understand the root of the hoot.

Does zero hoots mean being indifferent? Personally, I do not think so because 3pac is decisive. He gets the bread and the chedda. He doesn’t lay on the couch all day, afraid of the world, worrying about his life, and acting self-pitied. I remember 4 years ago when youtube put a ban on his channel 3pactv. They took down his most popular videos and he lost thousands of views (I’m Swaggin’ & Swag Like Osama). Was 3pac indifferent to the incident, defeated by youtube and decided to stop making music? Of course not. In true hootless fashion, 3pac made a new channel called 3pactvhd and reuploaded his most popular videos. 3pac doesn’t care about adversity in the face of his goals. He does what he thinks is important and noble. The most admirable quality about 3pac is that he can constantly overcome adversity and not give a hoot about it.

At the end of the day, I’m still trying to decipher what it truly means to give zero hoots. A lot of us are. Also, I’m sure my opinion will change on my journey to the last hoot. I want to invite all of the ZHG to let me know what they think it means to be hootless. Together we can rid the world of hoots.